Trump's border wall construction stalls — due to action by Kristi Noem: report

The construction of President Donald Trump's border wall — the core issue he initially ran on in 2016 — hasn't been going very smoothly, according to Axios. And a policy put into place by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is playing a big role.

"Only 30 miles of border barriers — out of a target of nearly 2,000 miles by 2029 — have been started and completed since the beginning of President Trump's second term," said the report. "Contracts for about 200 miles of border wall barriers had been awarded and were awaiting Noem's signature as of last Tuesday, according to an update memo on border wall construction obtained by Axios."

Tricia McLaughlin, the top DHS spokesperson, disputed these claims, saying, "There are currently no border wall related contracts pending the Secretary and just last year the Secretary reviewed over a thousand contracts related to border security."

But the memo obtained by Axios suggests that three contracts in Texas still require Noem's personal sign off.

This comes after reporting last year that Noem's requirement any contract over $100,000 get her personal review and signoff caused a three day delay in Federal Emergency Management Agency search-and-rescue responses after a devastating flood in Central Texas that left hundreds dead. It also comes as other reports indicate $1 billion in FEMA mitigation grants are sitting on Noem's desk in limbo.

Noem has been one of the most public faces of Trump's immigration policy, and the federal agent crackdowns in cities around the country. Some Republican lawmakers are now calling for her ouster over mismanaging the political crisis, although there are no current indications the Trump administration plans to get rid of her.